Changing our Fate
by Rebelgirl01
Summary: Arthur's world revolves around a few certain facts. He is a prince, he will eventually take over the kingdom of Camelot, and magic was evil. However, all of this would be thrown for a loop when visitors from distant kingdoms come for a visit. And what is this about his servant having magic?
1. Prologue

**Ok, so this is a collaboration between Rebelgirl01 and erma200. It is a crossover between Merlin and Fire Emblem Awakening. We do not own any recognizable characters. For those that are curious, yes Rebelgirl01 will be updating Mortal Goddess. erma200 has been wanting this story for a while.**

Prologue

It was a calm quiet night. It was quiet for many reasons; the main of which being that the end of the world had come and there were very few survivors remaining. Among the survivors were twenty-three children all of whom were about to embark on a dangerous mission. The dangerous mission was the idea of their goddess, Naga. They had nothing left in this world. The only two parents who had survived was unable to assist them. One, due to imprisonment by the Fell Dragon, Grima. And the second due to, being severely injured from the final battle.

Their mission was a crazy one that would be fraught with danger of epic proportions. However, if they succeeded more than one innocent life could be spared. In fact, millions of lives could be spared. The world could be spared. However, none of them were focused on that just now. The first part of their mission was just getting to Mt. Prism without being detected by Grima and his minions.

The group was nearing the summit of Mt. Prism following their leaders, Marth and Emrys. The children were being wary of their surroundings finding that this was going far too easy for them so far. The altar was coming into sight when they spotted a familiar figure.

"Welcome, Children. Are you ready to begin the main leg of your quest?"

The twenty-three children nodded their heads to the green-haired lady before them.

"Lady Tiki, we are ready to accept the quest that has been set before us. All of us know the consequences should we fail," the masked, short blue-haired leader spoke up for the group.

"Then let us begin," Lady Tiki stated as she motioned the children forward.

The children began to gather around when all of a sudden there was a loud crashing sound and they were surrounded by hundreds of Risen. Out nowhere appeared a hooded figure cloaked completely in shadows. This was Grima.

"Ready your weapons!" Emrys shouted as he drew the sword that used to be wielded by his father. The sword was forged in dragon's breathe and was called Excalibur.

The children all began to pull out a variety of weapons from many places on their persons. Those whose fighting styles preferred mounted units mounted their rides, which had been ridden up the mountain, for the battle before them.

Marth was about to pull out Parallel Falchion when Lady Tiki called out.

"No Marth, I need your assistance if this is to work."

The battle that followed was one that none of the children would be able to describe clearly afterwards. It only lasted a few minutes and no matter how many times they struck their enemies, more kept coming.

Brady and Karissa were running around trying to heal the other children during the battle; however, twenty fighters and two novice healers never really worked out in any major battle situation.

Just as the children were beginning to wonder if their mission was to fail before it even really began, a light from the altar drew everybody's attention, including the Risen and Grima.

"Come Children, it is time to go!" Lady Tiki yelled from the altar where she and Marth had opened the portal.

As one, the children rushed towards the portal that was glowing in the shape of a teal eye surround by the symbols of the Old Religion. It was only a matter of seconds, but that was enough to give the children a head start, before Grima came to his senses.

"After them! Don't let them enter the portal!"

The Risen moved forward to try and stop the children. However, one by one they began to enter the portal.

"Keep going Children. I will hold him off as long as I can," Lady Tiki ordered as she grabbed a stone from her pocket.

In a blinding pink light, Lady Tiki's form changed shape into her glowing white dragon form. After the transformation was complete, Lady Tiki charged forward to stall Grima and the Risen.

Marth and Emrys, who were waiting for the rest of the children to jump through the portal, watched in horror as their mentor charged into battle. Emrys drew Excalibur from its sheath and attempted to jump back into the fray. However, Marth grabbed him and drew him back.

"There's nothing we can do, Emrys!" Marth shouted over the chaos of the battle. "She is giving us our one chance to start our mission. Let's go!"

With that, Marth began to drag Emrys towards the portal. Realizing that his friend was right, Emrys stopped struggling and jumped into the portal with Marth. The last sound that they heard was a scream of denial followed by a scream that could only be described as one of sheer pain.

A few minutes into their travel through the portal, the portal began to tremor and shake.

"What's going on?" Emrys shouted.

Before Marth could answer, there was a shattering sound. Around them, the portal began to shatter.

"Run!" Marth shouts and began to run even faster.

The children took off as fast as they could with the older helping the younger; however, it was all for naught. The portal became less stable and before the children could brace themselves, it shattered completely. The children watched and screamed as they were pulled away from their friends into the unknown. They didn't know why the portal had shattered, they could only hope that they all made it to the other side; preferably in one piece.

**oOo**

The sounds of swords and the groans of dying men and women faded into the background the further into the Dragon's Table that the small group ran. The group consisted of King Arthur, Prince Chrom, Tactician Robin, Court Sorceress Merlyn along with the rest of the Knights of the Round Table and the Shepherds.

They reached the main altar room, threw open the doors as they went inside, and spotted standing before the altar Morgana, Mordred, and Validar. Of the three of them, Mordred stood tall in his black battle armour, Morgana stood in a black dress that, while regal, did not quite reach the standards of her pre-evil outfits, and Validar. Well, Validar stood before them in all his renowned creepiness smirking as the small group came forward to what he believed to be their doom.

"Ah, King Arthur, Prince Chrom and friends, welcome!" Validar smirked as the doors slammed close behind the small group.

"Yes, welcome, little brother. We have awaited your arrival," Morgana added in.

Mordred didn't say anything. He altered between glaring at Arthur and looking almost desperately at Merlyn.

Merlyn, on the other hand, looked at everybody except Mordred. She was still trying to come to terms with the fact that he left the knights to join Morgana.

"Now, little Prince, come at me to the best of your abilities and let's see who is stronger," Validar taunted.

Suddenly, a swirling barrier of purple light appeared separating the Arthur, Chrom, Merlyn, and Robin from the rest of the group.

Merlyn looked at the barrier and the group on the other side, "Well, that complicates things a bit."

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Focus Merlyn."

Merlyn turned around in time to see a blast of magic courtesy of Morgana coming at her. Merlyn quickly ducked and the attack missed her head by inches.

Chrom unsheathed Falchion and rushed toward Validar with a mighty battle cry. While Chrom played distraction, Robin pulled out his thunder tome and began to charge Thoron.

On the other side of the enclosed area, Merlyn and Arthur were locked in battle with Mordred and Morgana. Arthur and Morgana were trading blows with swords while Merlyn attempted to stab Mordred who was not even trying to fight.

"You know, if you are going to join the other side, you should have expected to have to fight me!" Merlyn shouted finally landing a blow to Mordred's left side. Mordred just looked at her still not drawing his sword.

Chrom clashed with Validar, who only teleported out of the way as Chrom struck. Validar reappeared behind Chrom and blasted the prince into a nearby column.

"You know, I always saw you as a sister, there was no reason for you to turn against us!" Arthur shouted as he parried another blow.

"You could never understand the fear of being killed for something you have no control over," Morgana retorted as she lunged towards Arthur.

Validar quickly charged a second spell and fired at Chrom, while he was still rising to his feet.

"_Archthunder,"_ Robin called as he let loose his own spell before it was even fully charged. The spell clashed with Validar's before it had the chance to hit Chrom.

The fight between Mordred and Merlyn was at a standstill with neither wishing to kill the other. Merlyn actually looked close to tears. Finally, she decided to assist Arthur against Morgana and ran across over to help.

"_Astrice!"_

Morgana was blasted backwards from Arthur just before she could land a killing blow to his chest. Merlyn engaged Morgana in a battle of magic as Arthur and Mordred began to trade blows by sword.

"You always were a meddlesome fool, Merlyn. _Ablinn ðu; forlæte ðu nu!_"

Merlyn flew backwards and was stunned as she hit the wall with dull thud. Arthur was forced to face Morgana and Mordred while hoping that Merlyn would be alright.

Validar turned toward Robin. "You fool, you truly believe you can change what has already been written?"

While the sorcerer was distracted, Chrom once again rushed at him with Falchion. He managed to land a blow on the distracted Validar's arm, causing him to drop the tome he was carrying. Seeing his chance, Robin quickly switched to a fire tome and charged it shortly.

"_Elfire!" _

Chrom jumped back as Validar was surrounded in a pillar of fire. As the spell died down, Chrom and Robin watched Validar face plant into the floor with a resounding thud.

The battle between Arthur, Mordred, and Morgana was heating up. Arthur and Mordred continued to trade blows via swords both trying to gain an opening on the other. Morgana on the other hand was throwing out random spells trying to hit, trip up, and distract Arthur.

Suddenly, both Arthur and Mordred lunged at the same time and both managed to land a hit. Looking down, both saw that they were speared by the other's sword. The result was instantaneous, Mordred's eyes locked onto Merlyn's as he fell to the ground and breathed his last breath.

Merlyn having shaken off the shock from being thrown into the wall saw the entire scene take place almost as though it was in slow motion. She watched as two of her best friends (though one was going through what she privately termed as a rebellious stage) managed to land mortal blows to each other with very deadly weapons. She locked eyes with Mordred as he fell to the ground dead. A lone tear slipped from her eyes.

She began to move forward as Arthur began to fall to the ground losing blood rapidly from his wound. She managed to catch him before he fully hit the ground and dragged him off to the side.

As Merlyn was dragging Arthur to the sidelines, Morgana was watching the battle on the other side of the room and decided to intervene. As Validar fell to the ground, Morgana sent a spell towards the backs of Robin and Chrom. Neither saw the attack coming and neither had the chance to move out of the way.

Merlyn saw what Morgana was planning and knew that this had to end before anybody else died. Merlyn quickly sent off two spells; one towards Morgana's spell and the other towards Morgana herself.

"_Astrice! Ablinn ðu; forlæte ðu nu!"_

As Merlyn's spell collided with Morgana's there was a resounding explosion that shook the altar. Chrome turned completely around as Robin turned his head in time to see Merlyn's second spell hit Morgana dead on and send her flying into the wall on the far end of the room.

Morgana collided with the wall and slid down to the ground unmoving.

"This isn't over! Damn you both!" Robin turned back just as Validar rose and fired yet another spell; this one also aimed at Chrom's back. Not having time to ready any of his own spells, Robin pushed Chrom out of the way and took the blow himself.

Chrom rushed over to help his friend as Validar once again vanished from view. As he made his way over, he spared a glance around the room to ascertain the situation. The barrier was still up and their allies were on the other side watching the scene unfold with wide eyes. Mordred and Morgana laid unmoving and looked as though they would remain that way. Merlyn was holding Arthur who was close to dead, and Chrom knew there was no saving him.

Robin began to stir as Chrom made it to his side.

"You alright?" Chrom asked as he helped Robin to sit up.

"Y-yeah," Robin lied as he winced in pain. Robin looked around and saw that Validar was nowhere to be seen. He sighed in relief. At least, for now, they could take a breather.

"Relax, he's gone," Chrom reassured him.

Robin nodded. However, as he did so his head started pounding, and his vision blurred. Something was wrong; however, he had no way to voice this as the pain steadily began to get worse.

Chrom took notice of Robin's pain and his expression immediately changed.

"Hey, what's wrong? Hang on-" Before Chrom could finish, he felt a searing pain in his abdomen. Looking down he noticed that he was speared by an attack that could only have come from Robin.

Looking at Robin, he saw the look of shock and denial on his friend's face and rushed to reassure his friend before he died.

"Don't worry, none of this was your fault. Now, you need to get out of here, quickly. Go!"

With that, Prince Chrom fell to the ground and remained there unmoving, and Robin's vision began to fade black.

When Robin began to come to, he heard voices; one of which sounded almost familiar.

"Chrom, we have to do something," a shrill voice stated.

"Well, what do you propose we do?"

"I-I don't know."

Robin let out a low moan, drawing the attention of the two strangers as his eyes began to open. Upon opening his eyes, he had to fight hard to control his reaction to seeing someone that he had just seen die by his hand in his dreams.

"I see you're awake now," Chrom told him. "There are better places to take a nap than on the ground you know. Here, give me your hand."

Chrom helped Robin up to his feet while a short perky girl jumped around without actually jumping.

"So, what is your name?"

"Better yet, why were you sleeping on the ground?"

Robin looked over and noticed a knight that he had not noticed before. The knight was looking at him with caution and suspicion. He decided it was best to answer the questions.

"My name is-" Robin started and then realized that he did not know his own name.

The group just stared at him waiting for him to finish his answer.

He looked sheepishly after a few minutes and muttered, "I don't remember my name, Chrom."

"And yet you know his?" The knight asked, his suspicions rising. "Can you at least tell us why you were on the ground, asleep?"

Robin shook his head, "I don't remember anything."

"Hey, I've heard of this," the girl piped up. "It's called amnesia."

"I'd call it a load of pegasus dung," the knight muttered under his breath. "Milord, we do need to get going. Your audience with King Uther cannot be put off. Especially since it took us this long to get him to agree to see you."

"Alright then, we'll just take him with us and sort it all out later," Chrom suggested.

"Are you sure that's wise, Milord?" the knight warned.

"Well, we can't just leave him here alone and confused."

"Uh, don't you think we should probably introduce ourselves before we drag him along with us?" the girl asked.

"Yeah, that might be helpful," Chrom commented. "I'm Chrom, but I guess you already knew that."

"I'm Lissa, and tall, dark and moody over there is Frederick the Wary."

"A title I shall wear with pride," Frederick stated. "Gods forbid one of us keeps an appropriate level of caution."

"Now that we've got that out of the way, we should get going," Chrom told the group.

"Wait, don't I get a say in any of this?" Robin asked.

"No!" Lissa answered quickly.

"Sure by all means, stay behind and be found by somebody who is not as understanding of your situation as we are," Chrom responded.

Giving a defeated sigh, Robin followed the group as they continued on their way. As they were walking, Chrom and Lissa explained who King Uther was and that they were currently on a road in Camelot heading towards the capital.

While the small group of four was making its way towards the citadel of Camelot, another group of knights, a prince and a secret warlock were coming upon a most gruesome scene. The scene was of a slaughter of a large group of Camelot's finest warriors.

Prince Arthur, leader of the expedition group looked upon the sight before him with a frown upon his face. Beside him was his loyal to a fault maid, Merlyn.

"Their heading north, let's move out!" Arthur ordered and his group began to move as fast as the guards on foot could run.

A few hours later, the group was moving slowly through the forest trying to find any sight of their targets. Merlyn was complaining and Arthur was teasing her.

"Not sore are you, Merlyn?"

"Oh no, not at all. I have just been on this bloody horse since before dawn. So, why would I be sore?"

"You could always walk if you are so sore. I am sure that one of the others would be more than happy to ride your horse."

"Well, sorry that my butt isn't as cushioned as yours."

The bantering continued on for the next few miles before Arthur called for a halt.

"Sire?" Sir Leon questioned.

"Listen."

"I don't hear anything," Merlyn pointed out.

Arthur rolled his eyes, "That is the point, Merlyn. It is too quiet."

Suddenly, the forest erupted into sounds of battle cries as the group was ambushed by around 50 bandits. The group quickly dismounted and began to fight. Merlyn moved off to the side to help in her own unique way.

**oOo**

The small group of four continued on the road and were now walking through a forest when they heard the sounds of battle ahead of them.

"Anyone else hear that?" Lissa asked the rest of the group.

"Yeah, kind of hard to miss," Robin pointed out.

"Well, whatever's going on, we should probably investigate," Chrom told them and started making his way through the forest.

"What about him?" Frederick questioned gesturing toward Robin.

"Unless he's being attacked by some invisible foe, it can wait."

With that all said and the course of action decided, the group of three ran towards the sounds of the battle. Robin hesitated for but a minute before following after the people that had been kind enough to take him in.

They arrived in the clearing to find a battle in full swing. Many knights and bandits had already fallen to their foe. However, many more remained standing and fighting. Chrom and Frederick rushed into the battle to assist the knights. They recognized the symbol of the Pendragon dragon on their cloaks. Lissa began to run around dodging swords, axes, and arrows trying to heal the injured that were not yet dead with her staff. She knew that Chrom and Frederick wouldn't let anything happen to her from her usage of magic in Camelot.

Robin arrived moments later and took in the entire scene with a well trained eye. He immediately saw a way to end the battle and began acting upon this knowledge.

Running over to some knights near the edge of the clearing he began to gather information and give directions.

"Who is in charge here?"

One of the knights quickly responded, "Prince Arthur."

After his foe was taken out, he pointed, "There."

Robin nodded, "Anybody else?"

"I am Sir Leon, second in command of the Knights of Camelot. And, who are you?"

Robin shrugged, "I don't even know myself. Anyways can you gather a group of knights and get them positioned there, there and there?" Robin questioned while pointing out the three tactical locations.

Sir Leon looked around and nodded back to Robin. He gathered up the group of knights that were on the edge of the clearing, where the fighting had started to die down, and got them positioned where Robin had recommended.

After everybody was in position, Robin ran over to help his new found acquaintances. He drew the sword that was on his waist and started fighting. A few minutes into the fighting, for reasons unknown to himself, he pulled a tome out of his robe that he didn't even know was there.

"Wait, that's a tome!" Leon exclaimed. "You can do magic?"

"I believe so," Robin responded with a shrug. "Let me check."

"Let you check?! I think I will stand back here for the time being."

"No, I can control it, I'm sure," Robin assured him and added under his breath, "Now, how did this work again?"

That last line did little to reassure Sir Leon. However, he wasn't about to question it for now. He knew though that there would be hell to pay after the battle.

It quickly became apparent why Robin had wanted knights positioned there when bandits tried to make a run for it, realizing that they were not going to win the battle. It only took a few moments more for the battle to be over. The battle was won through swordwork, magic and the randomly falling branches.

The knights swiftly gathered around their prince after the battle. All except for those who were still being treated by Lissa. Merlyn came out of her hiding spot and rushed over to the gathering group. She had seen the magic at use.

"Prince Chrom, thank you for the assist," Arthur welcomed his fellow prince.

"Wait, what?!" Robin exclaimed.

Everybody ignored him for the time being.

"Think nothing of it, we were passing through when we heard the sounds of the fight and decided to investigate."

Arthur nodded, "And it is a good thing you did too."

Quickly, Arthur sent a couple of knights to check the encampment and make sure that there were no bandits left.

Arthur noticed that many of his knights were glancing warily at Princess Lissa and the strange boy. So, he summoned over Leon.

"Do you want to explain to me why my knights are acting like wimps around a group of warriors from Ylisse?"

"The boy used magic, Sire."

Arthur's eyes widened.

"He didn't even try to hide it, and then hinted that he didn't know what he was doing."

Arthur snapped around to look at the strange boy.

"You used magic."

Robin looked at the blonde haired knight, "Uh, I guess so."

"You do realize the penalty for using magic in Camelot, don't you?" Arthur questioned raising his eyebrow.

"Not really, no."

"He's with us, Prince Arthur," Chrom quickly intervened. "He is my new tactician."

Arthur shook his head. Despite Camelot's laws, any visitors of nobility or who worked for the visiting nobility were to be left alone.

"Fine, but I recommend that you warn him of the dangers involved in using magic in Camelot, Prince Chrom."

Chrom nodded.

"You're a prince?!" Robin questioned again hoping that somebody would answer this time.

Lissa heard the question this time and answered, "Yep, didn't we tell you?"

Robin simply shook his head no.

"Oops, oh well. Now you know.

"I guess that explains why Frederick tolerates all the teasing."

"Yes, oh the sacrifices I make for the good of the Halidom."

"Wait, he is your tactician and he doesn't know who you are?" Arthur questioned after watching the scene.

"He is suffering from amnesia. We are hoping it is only temporary," Lissa responded checking over Robin for any injuries.

It was at that moment that the group of knights that had been sent to check out the encampment returned and they had an unexpected person accompanying them.

"Morgana," Arthur breathed out staring at the girl he saw as a sister who had been missing for over a year.


	2. Chapter 1

**We do not own either Merlin or Fire Emblem. **

**Chapter 1**

Arthur rushed over to Morgana who was looking more ragged and dirty than he had ever seen her.

"Morgana, where have you been? We have been searching for you," Arthur questioned as he stepped back to take a closer look at her.

"I have been everywhere in this gods forsaken forest, Arthur. I only managed to escape from Morgause recently, only to be picked up by these brutes," she complained sending a glare over to the captured bandits.

Arthur nodded, "Don't worry Morgana, you are safe now."

He turned away and began to bark out orders, "Gather the prisoners. Merlyn, ready the horses."

Merlyn nodded before going to fetch the horses where they had run to at the beginning of the battle. Good thing they were trained to not wander too far.

Upon returning, with the horses, Merlyn noticed that Arthur was glaring at the strange boy.

"You may be Prince Chrom's tactician but let me make something quite clear. You do **not** give orders to my men without my say so. Understand!" Arthur all but yelled at the boy.

Robin just silently nodded. He hadn't really thought about what he was doing.

"Now, what was your name again?"

"My name is Robin," Robin answered without thinking about it. He noticed that Chrom, Frederick and Lissa looked at him weirdly.

"Well huh, I guess I just remembered that. Oh well, that is one mystery solved."

"All that this proves, is that you will eventually get your memories back," Chrom answered.

"Or at least you hope he will," Arthur added.

Privately, Robin agreed with Arthur. He didn't think the chances were high of him retrieving his memories.

After everything was packed and the horses cared for, Arthur ordered everybody to mount up.

As Merlyn started to get on her horse, Arthur stopped her.

"Merlyn, Prince Chrom and Princess Lissa need your horse. Let them use it."

"But why?"

Arthur looked at her like she was an idiot.

"They are royalty; you are a servant. Do I need to say anything else to make the reason clear? Sir Frederick is a knight and he is giving up his steed."

Merlyn looked over and noticed that Sir Frederick was already giving up his horse, without being asked, to Morgana. Seeing no other option, Merlyn stepped aside and allowed the royals to mount her horse. Privately, she was planning all of the complaints that she would be making on the way back to Camelot. She also planned on getting to know Robin.

With the issue of horses settled, the group set off at the pace of the walkers. There were now fewer guards on foot, but Merlyn, Robin, and Sir Frederick were now walking. Merlyn noticed that Sir Frederick tended to walk close to the horse Prince Chrom was riding, never getting that far away. Robin and Merlyn walked together in the back of the group.

Robin noticed that Prince Arthur never let Merlyn fully out of his sight. He guessed that it had to do with the fact that she was but a child and a woman. Robin decided to help put the prince at ease and walk near the servant.

"So, Merlyn, why is it that Arthur did not want me using magic?"

"Well, it's kind of banned," Merlyn answered hesitantly noticing that many of the knights had stiffened upon hearing the topic of conversation.

"And why is that?"

"Don't know. The King believes it to be evil and so it is banned. It is punishable by death should one be caught using it."

"And yet, I'm still standing, and accompanying the prince to the capitol."

"You are lucky," Sir Leon finally decided to intervene. "You are a member of a foreign delegation and therefore do not fall under Camelot's laws. I would, however, advise against the usage of magic, at least obviously."

"Duly noted."

The group continued to ride for a few hours before Lissa began to complain that it was getting dark and she was tired. It was decided that they would stop for the night to give the horses a break. The group dismounted and Arthur immediately set Merlyn to doing her chores.

"Merlyn, feed and water the horses, set up the fire and then start dinner. Please remember we have more here then normal so you will have to cook extra."

With that, Arthur set off to go and have a talk with the visiting nobles. Merlyn scowled at the back of the prince before heading over to the horses.

"Would you like some help?" Robin offered coming up behind the servant.

"Yeah, are you able to gather wood and start a fire?"

Robin start to pull out a tome from under his robes.

"Without that!" Merlyn hurriedly added. "Here."

She handed him a flint.

Robin returned the book to its spot and took the flint from Merlyn. Merlyn watched him stare at it cluelessly for a few minutes before deciding to take pity on him.

"You have no idea what you are doing do you?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Yes. Come on you can help me take care of the horses and gather the wood. Then _I _will start the fire."

With Robin helping, the chores took Merlyn only half as long as normal. By sunset, the horses were tended to, the camp fire was going, and dinner was cooked. Of course, not everybody enjoyed the idea of camping outside.

"Are you sure there's no other option other than sleeping outside, in the open?" Lissa complained. "I don't know about everyone else, but I don't like bugs. Noisy, disgusting bugs that buzz around and crawl all over and bite you when—Agh! Won goph in mah mouph!"

Everybody began to laugh as Lissa tried desperately to spit the bug out. It was definitely not the etiquette of a lady. It wasn't long after that, that the group decided to go to sleep for the night. Merlyn was informed that she would not be needed for a shift of night watch because Chrom and Frederick were there. Robin was also excused from night watch.

The next morning, the entire group packed up the camp so that they could move out quicker and soon they were on their way.

The rest of the short journey back to the capitol was made in relative silence except for the occasional barb thrown by Arthur or Merlyn. They arrived at the citadel to find the King waiting for them on the front steps. Merlyn was instantly sent to care for all of the horses and then take the bags inside and prepare rooms for the guests.

The guests and knights were taken inside to the throne room to report on what they saw and to have the meeting with the Ylissean royalty.

The group made their way into the throne room and the council was summoned. Once the entire court was present, Uther welcomed their visitors.

"Welcome, Prince Chrom and Princess Lissa. We have been anticipating your arrival. However, where is the Exalt?"

"Regrettably, Exalt Emmeryn had matters to attend to in Ylisse and was unable to join us," Chrom informed the king.

King Uther nodded that sounded likely, even though he was highly disappointed. He couldn't argue any further without risking the coming off as rude.

The conversation continued into the dispute about magic and how the two kingdom could work around their differences. It wasn't going well.

"But why the ban on all forms of magic?" Chrom questioned. "Wouldn't it make more sense to ban the dangerous variety and allow the kind that can actually be beneficial?" Chrom gestured toward Lissa, who was still holding her Heal staff.

"All magic is evil. It is a corrupting force that can take over even the most peaceful and benevolent of people."

"I fail to see how healing magic can be used for evil," Chrom muttered half to himself.

"You were not around _boy_ when magic was taking over the minds of my people, including the _healers_. They heal just so that the people become indebted to them. They heal so that they can hide and mask their true nature and are never suspected for the evil that they truly are."

"But how do you know for certain that that's the intention of _all_ magic users?" Robin interjected. "Why punish any and all who can use magic when it's only a select few who have wronged you?"

"I do not answer to you, _boy_! You hold no council in these halls, so hold your tongue," Uther snapped.

"Sire, the boy is a sorcerer. He fought with the Ylisseans against the bandits in the woods," Sir Leon piped up.

Uther's face turned a rather interesting shade of purple.

"You have allowed a _sorcerer_ into my castle!?"

Sir Leon bowed to his king.

"I am sorry, Sire, but, we had no choice. They claimed him as their tactician, and we did not wish to start a diplomatic incident."

King Uther glared at his knight, but there was nothing more he could say. The boy was safe so long as the Ylisseans claimed him, and he was here as part of their party. If he was a visitor, even from Ylisse here on his own, he could kill him but not while he was here as part of the diplomatic party.

The conversations continued to go nowhere for a few more hours, and as Uther was declaring council done for the day, one of the old councilmen piped up.

"Sire, I have a quick question for the young sorcerer," Uther nodded his ascent. "If the young man is an Ylissean, why is he wearing Plegian robes?"

Uther immediately had an unpleasant grin spread across his face, "Yes, Prince Chrom, why is that?"

"Well, it seems that, unlike you here in Camelot, we in Ylisse judge our men based on their skills, not their backgrounds."

Uther's face went back to being the very interesting shade of purple about half way through the comment. Morgana, sitting regally upon her throne, was biting her tongue to keep from laughing out right. Prince Arthur looked as though he didn't know whether to yell at Prince Chrom or slap him on the back to thank him for saying something that he had long been thinking.

The knights were also having mixed reactions, but most of them seemed to be somewhere around the reactions of Prince Arthur and Lady Morgana. Gaius was looking at the floor shaking his head. To many it would seem as though he was ashamed of what had just been said; however, in truth, he was shaking in silent laughter at someone finally standing up and speaking the truth to his old friend.

Robin seemed to be the only one, other than Uther, who was taking the situation seriously. He found a rather interesting spot on the floor to stare at while he thought about what had just been brought up about himself.

Robin, realizing that negotiations were at a standstill due to his presence, decided that he needed to excuse himself.

"Prince Chrom, if it is alright, I am going to go and check on the status of our rooms," Robin announced bowing slightly to Chrom.

Chrom looked confused at what Robin just stated. It was Frederick who spoke up in response.

"Perhaps that would be for the best, Robin. Go ahead."

With one last bow to the royalty in the room, Robin took his leave.

Uther seemed to believe that that was his cue to regain control of _his_ throne room.

"ENOUGH!" He shouted over the sound of giggles and in some cases laughter.

Instantly, all attention was back on the King of Camelot.

"Now, since the distraction is gone, maybe we can get back to the true reason for this assembly."

And like that, the group was once more engaged in the boring talk of politics. King Uther and his court continued to try and persuade the Ylisseans that magic was nothing but pure evil. The Ylisseans continued to try and keep the assembly on the topic of an alliance with no conversation about magic.

Three hours later, with it nearing supper time, the group decided to call it quits for the night. King Uther invited the Ylissean representatives to join him, his son, and his ward for dinner.

"We will accept your offer, but first, I wish to check up on my tactician," Chrom replied while trying to remember the manners that his parents and sister had _tried _to teach him as a child. Not many heard the "that you ran off" added on to the end of his comment.

Luckily for the prince, Uther was one of people who had not. Uther nodded, and with that, Chrom left the throne room with Lissa and Frederick in tow.

**oOo**

While the court was debating the virtues of magic and the slim chances of an alliance, Robin decided to try and find out where their rooms were. However, he had no idea where the maid, Merlyn, had vanished off to. Deciding that he didn't want to spend the rest of the day trying to find one wayward servant, he stopped a maid and asked for help.

"Excuse me, miss?"

The maid stopped to look at him. She couldn't determine if he was a noble or not, so she decided to error on the side of manners.

"Yes, sir?"

"Would you by chance know, where I might find the maid, Merlyn?"

The dark colored maid's eyes widened.

"Oh, I just saw her. She was heading to the armoury to take care of the Prince's armour."

Robin just nodded, not knowing where that was.

"You have no clue where that is, do you?"

"Nope," Robin replied with a smile.

With that being admitted, the girl began to give simple directions to the stranger. Before they parted ways, Robin came to the realization that he did not know the girl's name.

"Excuse me, but I seem to have forgotten my manners. My name is Robin."

The girl blushed realizing that she had been talking to a complete stranger without introducing herself.

"My name is Guinevere, but my friends call me Gwen."

Robin nodded, "Well then, Gwen, thank you very much for your assistance."

With that, he took off in the direction that Gwen had indicated to find the object of his hunt.

It didn't take him long to find the armoury and was quite pleased to find Merlyn sitting there polishing a sword. As he walked up behind the girl, he was able to hear what she was muttering.

"Do this, Merlyn. Do that, Merlyn. While I sit here on my royal-"

"Am I interrupting something?"

Merlyn snapped around nearly slicing her hand in the process. She was surprised to see the sorcerer from the Ylissean entourage standing behind her.

"Ummm. No...ummm...sir."

"Please, just Robin is fine."

"Oh, okay," Merlyn started blushing. She had no idea how to talk to another magic user who wasn't trying to kill her or Arthur. After all, the only other magic users that she had met were Morgana, Morgause, and Nimueh.

"Did you need something?"

"Yes, I was actually checking on how the rooms are coming."

Merlyn perked up at that.

"Oh, I wasn't expecting you to be out of council for a few more hours at least. If not, well past the final bell."

"Yes, I suppose the others won't be done for quite some time, based on how matters were going when I left."

Merlyn stood up and put the sword away while Robin was explaining this before turning back to the tactician.

"The rooms are this way."

As they were walking, Robin decided to try and have a conversation with the young sorceress.

"So, I noticed the most peculiar thing during our fight with the bandits."

Merlyn turned to look at Robin while they were walking.

"What would that be?"

"It appeared as though branches were breaking on their own and they only seemed to strike our foes when they fell."

Merlyn went pale. He had seen her.

"I don't know what you are talking about," she denied.

"No, I suppose not. However, branches don't normally just break off like that."

"The wind?"

"There was none. No, I suspect that Camelot has an unknown sorcerer running around."

"Nobody would be foolish enough to use magic in the heart of Camelot," Merlyn put in.

"That would be foolish indeed. After all, I was only here for minutes before being found out. I can't imagine living here for years and being able to hide something as large as that."

Without realizing it, they had arrived at the rooms without really paying attention to where they were going. Well, Merlyn hadn't paid attention anyways.

"These are your rooms. If you don't need anything else, I need to get back to my chores," Merlyn tried to excuse herself.

Robin stopped her before she could leave, "Actually, Merlyn, I think we need to talk a bit, if you don't mind"

Merlyn was starting to get nervous but she had no way of disobeying a delegate from a visiting kingdom. So with much dread, she followed Robin into the rooms.

Once they were in the room, Robin motioned for Merlyn to take a seat. He noticed that Merlyn seemed on edge and had an idea as to why. However, before he could help her, she needed to admit it to him.

"Well, now that we're out of earshot of others, I suppose I can be a bit more straightforward. It was you who was making the branches fall, wasn't it, Merlyn?" he questioned looking her straight in the eyes; daring her to deny it.

Merlyn remained silent. She had no idea what to do. Gaius had always lectured her on keeping it a secret and here was a complete stranger saying that, within the first ten minutes of knowing her, he saw her use magic.

Robin kept his steady gaze locked onto Merlyn, waiting for a response.

Merlyn seemed to realize that she wasn't going to get out of here without admitting it. However, a thought just struck her. He was a magic user too. He may not turn her in, because in a way, they were kin.

Merlyn took a deep breath before nodding and whispering in a very soft, small voice, "I was born with it. According to my mom, I was able to move objects within minutes of being born. Before I could even walk or talk I was able to make objects move where and how I wanted them to."

Robin smiled and nodded, having confirmed what he had been suspecting since yesterday.

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."

Merlyn looked up at Robin and smiled, "Thank you."

"I do have one question: has Arthur realized this yet? I mean, it's kind of obvious."

Merlyn giggled and shook her head, "Arthur is oblivious. He wouldn't realize that I had magic if I walked up to him wearing a big, pointy hat. In fact, I one time told him and the council that I had magic. All he did was call me an idiot and send me to clean out the stables."

"And yet, I was caught in the first five minutes. How does that work?" Robin asked incredulously.

"Well, you decided to bring out a tome in front of Sir Leon the Ever Observant and then went on to have an idle chat with him about it," Merlyn pointed out.

"In my defense, I was not aware of the consequences that would ensue."

Merlyn put her hands up in a harmless gesture, "Hey you just asked how it was possible. Don't get defensive when it is exactly what happened."

"I never said it wasn't. I was merely giving my side of the story."

"No, you were trying to explain it away. The story didn't change when you said you were unaware of the consequences; therefore, your side of the story is the same as the original story."

Robin chuckled "Fair enough."

Merlyn blushed as she realized she had just called Robin a liar.

"Anyways, I need to go check in with my mentor," Merlyn said as she headed towards the door. She stopped when she remembered her manners. "You're welcome to join me."

"I think I'll take you up on that offer," Robin stated as he stood up as well. He saw no point in waiting in his chambers for endless hours while the meeting dragged on.

Merlyn gave him a small smile, guessing what he was thinking and began to lead the way to the Court Physician's chambers. It didn't take long for them to arrive with the entire court being in the throne room. Gaius had been excused, shortly after the disagreement, due to there being an illness break out in the lower town.

Merlyn opened the door and called out, "Gaius, you here?"

She gestured for Robin to come on in. The room was its normal organized chaos with books scattered everywhere. Gaius' bed and the patient bed shoved in corners. The main table was covered in parchment, ink, bottles, herbs, books, and other miscellaneous paraphernalia that Gaius required for his work.

Robin's attention was immediately drawn over to one of the stacks of books. He picked one up and started flipping through the pages.

Merlyn shook her head as she went to go and get herself something for lunch. Gaius was already eating. She poured two bowls of the soup and placed one in front of Robin before beginning to eat her own.

Robin took that as his cue to close the book and join the others. It didn't take long for the three to finish eating and for Merlyn to wash the dishes. Gaius turned to his ward with what she termed the raised eyebrow of death. Merlyn sighed.

"What? I haven't done anything. I escorted Robin to his chambers, we talked, and then we came here."

The eyebrow rose higher.

"I am going to show him around, but I wanted to stop here to check in and see if there was any food."

"Aren't you leaving out something rather important?" Robin asked, raising his own eyebrow.

Merlyn turned and glared at him.

"No."

"Merlyn…"

Merlyn turned to Gaius, "Honestly, nothing else happened."

Gaius shook his head, "Alright, what did you two talk about."

"Arthur."

"What about Arthur?"

"His characteristics and personality."

Robin was just sitting back and watching as Merlyn tried to dodge her mentor's questions. He would help her eventually, maybe.

"And why would you two be talking about that?"

"Because we wanted to."

"You do realize that could get you in serious trouble if somebody overheard you."

Merlyn shrugged, "We didn't say anything bad. All I did was point out that he could be a prat and oblivious in certain circumstances."

The raised eyebrow returned.

"Oh, and what sort of circumstances would those be?"

Merlyn smirked, "Situations involving magic of course."

"Merlyn!"

Merlyn started to laugh.

"Robin spotted me using magic during the raid yesterday."

Gaius looked back and forth between the two. Robin was seriously worried that he was going to have a heart attack.

"Relax Gaius. I can hardly turn her in, when I myself have magic."

Gaius sat down hard on his bench before he fell down. He was seriously getting too old for this.

"Seriously, Merlyn, how many times do I have to tell you to keep it secret? You can't just go running around using magic whenever you feel like it. It is a miracle you still have a head attached to your shoulders. How the entire castle doesn't know is beyond me," He ranted before turning on Robin. "And you. Seriously? Using magic in front of the knights? What were you thinking? Do you have any sense of self-preservation? You are just lucky that Prince Chrom stood up for you! And arguing with Uther! Are you suicidal?! You seem to have as big of a death wish as Merlyn here!"

The two started to back towards the door as Gaius started to rant to himself more than to them. Best to get going while the getting was good. The two rushed down the stairs as quickly as they could and didn't stop until they were about three floors and two corridors away from the irate physician.

"Well, do you still want that tour?" Merlyn questioned Robin with a smile on her face.

"Sure, lead the way."

Merlyn nodded before turning and leading the way through the castle that could only be described by Robin as a maze. Honestly, how the servants were able to get from one place to another in a timely manner was beyond him.

The tour led them past the kitchens, Prince Arthur's chambers, the throne room (which Robin hurried them past), the stables, the upper and lower towns, the parapet, and the library.

Merlyn had to drag Robin away from the library by the hood when it looked as though he didn't want to leave.

"Come on! We have to go before Sir Geoffrey finds us here!"

"I doubt he would mind if I just had a quick look around."

"Then you clearly don't know Sir Geoffrey. Nobody goes near these books and scrolls without his express permission and even then, he won't let you out of his sight until you have put it back exactly the way you found it. The only people really allowed to take the books out are Gaius, Arthur, Morgana, and Uther."

"Fine, I guess I'll just have to come back later and ask," Robin sighed dejectedly.

After that, they continued the tour. Robin asked questions and Merlyn answered as best that she could. There were not too many nobles and knights to dodge because they were all in the meeting in the throne room. When the sun started to set, the duo decided to start making their way back to the guest rooms.

As they were nearing Robin's chambers, they spotted Chrom, Lissa and Frederick coming from the opposite direction.

"There you are! We have been looking everywhere for you!" Chrom called as the two groups neared each other.

Merlyn gave a quick curtsy before backing away from the group; she still had no idea how the Ylisseans viewed servants.

"We have been invited by King Uther to dine with him, Prince Arthur, and Lady Morgana."

Merlyn left the group upon hearing this. She knew that she would need to go and get Arthur ready for dinner and then serve at the dinner.

Robin gave a grimace. "I'm afraid I will politely decline his offer. I wouldn't want to cause even more tensions."

Chrom nodded, "I expected as much, but I wanted to make sure."

With that worked out, the group divided to go to their chambers. Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick got ready for the dinner, and Robin called for a passing servant to bring him something.

Meanwhile, Merlyn finished getting Arthur ready with a lot of banter involved. The dinner was a lively affair with the entire court and all the knights of Camelot present. Uther's smile had looked forced at first when the Ylisseans were announced. However, it quickly became genuine when he realized that Robin was not among the group.

Merlyn and Gwen served the high table with Uther, Arthur, Morgana, and the visiting Ylisseans. George and a bunch of other servants had been instructed to serve the knights and lower guests. Overall, the dinner went without too many issues. By the end of the night, most were certain that it would be fairly simple for the two kingdoms to come up with a treaty that they both could agree on.

The next couple days continued much as the first. Robin and Merlyn hung out with Robin assisting Merlyn with her chores so that they could have time to talk about the different aspects of magic. Merlyn was interested in learning about tomes and Robin was interested in learning about incantations. Unfortunately, Robin couldn't teach Merlyn anything because Arthur had confiscated all of his tomes upon passing through the gates of Camelot. However, Merlyn had not been bothered by that. She taught Robin about incantations and told Robin that he could teach her later on.

In two days, Robin was showing a natural talent and was getting the hang of the _astrice_ and _forebaerne_. Of course, it would take more practice before these spells would be strong enough to use in combat.

The council on the other hand continued to argue about the treaty and what should be included. The Camelotians wanted the treaty to include a ban on magic in both kingdoms and Ylisseans wanted the Camelotians to agree to only punish the magic users that actually committed a crime.

Needless to say, after two days of negotiations, the discussion was at a standstill, and the treaty was in danger of not occurring at all.

"We will _not_ have a treaty unless magic is banned!"

"You cannot force an entire kingdom to give up magic at the drop of a hat! Especially one that's not yours!"

"Why not?! Camelot did it! Ten years and magic is non-existent in Camelot!"

"You are an IDIOT!"

"Excuse me!" Uther shouted as he rose to his feet. "These negotiations are over! The Ylissean delegation will be leaving in the morning."

With that declaration he stormed out of the throne room leaving everybody else to dismiss themselves. It only took a few minutes for Chrom to realize that he had just blown it.

"Oh man. Emmeryn is going to be _so_ mad at me."

"Yeah, she is," Lissa input.

Frederick just gave him a look of disappointment and he knew where the knight stood. He gave a sigh and led the group back to their guest chambers. He wasn't surprised to see that Robin and Merlyn were once more practicing in the main room. It had been a surprise originally to see the little servant using magic in their chambers; however, they quickly accepted her once they realized that she was naturally gifted. So, they granted the two a safe place to practice that was out of the common eye. If it came down to the two getting caught, Chrom already knew that he would grant Merlyn sanctuary in Ylisse. Hopefully though, it would not come to that. People like Merlyn was actually one of the reasons that they were trying to get Camelot to lay back on its laws a bit in terms of magic.

"We are leaving, Robin."

The two magic users quickly looked up at the declaration.

"Why?" Merlyn questioned.

She had learned after two days that it was alright to be herself in front of the Ylisseans. They really didn't stand on formalities when they were amongst friends.

"Because Chrom decided to call Uther an idiot to his face in front of the entire council!" Lissa all but yelled.

Robin and Merlyn looked at Chrom incredulously.

"You called the king an idiot in his own throne room in front of his own council?!"

"That is a definite way to get thrown out."

"As we discovered," Frederick pointed out.

"Well, there is nothing that we can do about it now. Everybody get packed," Chrom directed.

Merlyn decided that would be a good time to leave and go check on Arthur. She found the prince pacing back and forth in his chambers.

"The idiot had to go and call father an idiot! I mean what was he_ thinking_!? He had to have known that that was a sure fire way to cancel the negotiations right then and there!"

"Well, I don't think there is much you can do. Your father has already dismissed the delegates and they are packing as we speak," Merlyn added her input.

Arthur turned on Merlyn.

"And where have you been the past three days?!"

Merlyn flinched.

"I did my chores and then hung out with the tactician, Robin."

"You hung out with a known sorcerer?!"

Merlyn just nodded.

"Are you suicidal?! A sorcerer! Honestly, why don't you just go and walk into the middle of bandit camp while you are at it. It would be just as safe and at least they won't pretend to be nice first."

"Robin's actually a great guy," Merlyn couldn't help but defend her new friend.

"You are _defending_ a sorcerer?"

"Yes, because he is nice. I have spent hours with him these past three days. He hasn't done a single thing to me except talk."

"Well, it doesn't matter, he is leaving in the morning. Go get dinner for me, Merlyn, and then you are dismissed for the night."

Merlyn returned to her chambers that night and talked to Gaius about the treaty discussions.

"There was actually a chance of a treaty being created until Prince Chrom called King Uther an idiot."

"Well, it doesn't matter now, we are leaving in the morning," a voice came from the door.

Gaius and Merlyn turned to see Robin standing there with a book in his hands.

"Robin! I thought you would be packing."

"I don't really have anything to pack because I don't have anything. Anyways, I came to bring Merlyn this."

Robin held the book out to Merlyn. Merlyn took the book and opened it. The book was green in color and had an intricate design of swirls on the cover.

"This is a tome," Merlyn said in awe.

"Yeah, Prince Arthur came by and returned my tomes to me. Unfortunately, I don't have time to teach you like you taught me. However, I figured that you would be smart enough to figure it out."

Gaius looked panicked at the idea of his ward trying to learn even more illegal magic. Robin caught the look and started to try and reassure him.

"Don't worry. Wind magic is the least destructive of the tome magic. She shouldn't destroy anything while she trains."

While it didn't completely calm Gaius down, it did help a little bit. After determining that Gaius wasn't going to have a heart attack, Merlyn decided to get back on topic.

"You mentioned that more guests are coming tomorrow?"

Gaius nodded, "The Plegians are arriving tomorrow afternoon after the Ylisseans leave."

"Why are they coming? Aren't the Plegians and Ylisseans enemies?"

Gaius nodded, "Prince Arthur is to be married."

"Again?"

Robin looked at Merlyn with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes again."

"To what? A faerie? A Goblin? An Elf?"

"A noblewoman," Gaius said highly unimpressed.

"Oh, haven't met that magical creature yet."

"Merlyn-" Gaius came up behind Merlyn and slapped the back of her head.

Merlyn looked over and saw Robin's incredulous look.

"What?"

"Arthur is married?"

"No.'

"Then what do you mean by again?"

"Oh, Arthur has been set up to marry what almost ten times at least since I have been here."

"Seriously?"

Merlyn nodded. They were about to continue the conversation when the warning bells went off and a knight came running into the room.

"Gaius, the king needs you and your ward in the throne room."

Gaius and Merlyn nodded and started to gather up a quick first aid kit before taking off after the knight. Robin followed behind them. The group arrived at the throne room to find it in an organized chaos.

"What is going on sire?"

"We are under attack by Cenred's army."

"Arthur take the knights and hold the upper town. The lower town has already been lost, but we will _not_ lose the citadel."

Arthur nodded before heading out with Sir Leon and some other knights right behind him.

"Gaius, you and your ward set up the emergency infirmary and prepare for patients. You may of course have Morgana and her maid to assist you along with ten other servants."

Gaius nodded and motioned for Merlyn, Morgana, Gwen, and the ten servants to follow. They needed to get the emergency cots from storage and more supplies.

As that group was leaving, the rest of the Ylissean delegation joined the crowd in the throne room. Uther snapped around to look at the new arrivals.

"What do you need, Prince Chrom? If you can't tell, we are under attack."

"We wish to help. Frederick, Robin and I can fight. Lissa can heal."

"NO! No, magic," Uther shouted before taking a deep break. "Prince Chrom, you and Sir Frederick are more than welcome to assist the knights if that is your wish. Princess Lissa is welcome to assist Gaius, _without_ magic. However, I cannot and will not allow the sorcerer to help. I want him in chambers and he is to stay there. I will post one of the guards on him. He is not to leave until _after_ the battle is over."

"King Uther, isn't that a bit excessive?" Sir Frederick tried to stand up for the new tactician.

"No, it is either that, or all four of you can return to your chambers. That is my final word on the matter."

With that, Uther turned back to his council and the battle at hand. Left with little option, Chrom made a decision that he did not agree with, but it was in everybody's best interest.

"Robin, return to your chambers. Lissa, join Gaius in the infirmary and help as much as you can without your staff. Frederick, you will join me in assisting Prince Arthur."

The group nodded and began to move as they were told. While he didn't agree with the choice, Robin knew that it was for the best of everybody if he returned to his chambers; however, nothing said that he had to stay there. Well, except for the king, but Uther wasn't _his_ king. One guard on his door wasn't going to stop him from helping. For now though, he would at least pretend to go along with the plan.

As he left the throne room, a guard moved to follow him. Once in his chambers, he locked the door behind him and moved towards the window. He would watch for now and join when he knew that he was needed.

Gaius and the others were just finishing setting up the infirmary when the first patients began to come in. Right now, they were mostly the survivors of the attack on the lower town; civilians.

The fight in the upper town was fierce; however, Arthur, Chrom, Frederick and the Knights of Camelot were holding off the army of Cenred and actually pushing them back. Hopefully, the battle wouldn't last too long.

It was about a half hour into the battle that Merlyn noticed Morgana sneaking off. Merlyn had had a bad feeling about Morgana ever since they found her four days ago in the woods. She knew that Morgana had gone evil during the fight against the knights of Medhir. She had betrayed them the second that she agreed to host the curse that was to put Camelot into a permanent sleep.

Merlyn followed Morgana through the corridors of the citadel and down into the catacombs that hosted the tombs of the kings of old. Merlyn stuck to the shadows, not wanting to be caught eavesdropping on whatever it was that Morgana was doing. She watched as Morgana used what Merlyn was able to identify as the Staff of Nimueh in a very dark spell.

Suddenly, all around her, the tombs of the kings of old cracked open as the skeletons broke free and marched towards the grounds of Camelot. Merlyn decided that she needed to confront Morgana.

"Morgana, stop!" Merlyn shouted as she came out of her hiding place.

Morgana turned around to glare at the servant.

"You can't stop me Merlyn."

"Morgana, you aren't evil. This isn't you. Don't you care what happens to the innocents? Arthur? Gwen? Aren't they your friends? This isn't how someone should treat their friends."

Morgana snorted, "What do you know about how to treat friends? You just poison yours. So, how am I any worse than you?"

Merlyn flinched.

"You know that I had no choice Morgana. It was you or Camelot. I am sorry that I couldn't sacrifice hundreds to save you."

"I don't want your pity. You turned me into this," Morgana sneered before she attacked.

On the grounds of the city, the knights were starting to be pushed back towards the citadel; however, they still had the upper hand. Arthur heard a scream come from behind him and turned in time to see one of his knights impaled by a skeleton.

"Two fronts! Half turn!"

The knights quickly followed orders and paired off to fight back to back. Chrom stood back to back with Arthur as Frederick did the same with Leon.

"Where did the second front come from?" Chrom shouted over the sounds of the battle.

"They must have been summoned from inside the citadel. There is no other way that they could have got behind us like this," Leon responded.

"It doesn't matter. We take them both out," Arthur shouted before joining the melee.

Unfortunately, morale was becoming low amongst the knights now that there was a two front war.

In the infirmary, Gaius was wondering what had happened to the Lady Morgana and his ward; however, he didn't have time to go and find them. He had patients that needed his help. He watched as Princess Lissa did her best to heal and comfort the injured without her magic, and she was doing a great job.

The battle in the crypts was going well for Merlyn. She definitely had more power than Morgana and more training. However, Morgana was more wild in her attacks and therefore was causing more damage when she managed to land a hit. Needless to say, the crypts were officially destroyed and Merlyn was no closer to getting rid of the staff that was undoubtedly causing mass chaos on the surface.

Morgana had not been happy to discover that Merlyn had kept her magic a secret.

"I told you about mine!" Morgana said as she tried to blast Merlyn into the wall.

Merlyn dodged before returning fire with an attack of her own.

"You know why I couldn't, Morgana. It would have been more dangerous for the both of us."

"At least, I wouldn't have felt abandoned and alone. I wouldn't have felt like a monster."

"I admit it; I made mistakes, but this isn't the way to solve your issue!"

The knights had been forced back to the courtyard of the citadel and were in danger of being forced to retreat into it. The advantage they'd had had been lost upon the arrival of the undead. The undead were being a major pain; they would not die.

Arthur knew that something needed to change; otherwise Camelot would fall. Suddenly, all attention on the battlefield was drawn skyward as a giant light appeared in the sky. The bright light began to form the shape of an eye, and Arthur was thinking 'oh great, what now?'

When the eye was fully opened, all watched as these grotesque beings came charging out of it.

"Seriously, a three front battle?!" Leon shouted as the terrifying new arrivals began to attack everybody.

"It doesn't look like they are siding with Cenred though. They are attacking everybody," Frederick pointed out.

"Does anybody know what they are?" Chrom questioned.

"More undead?" Leon suggested.

Just then, Arthur stabbed one and it disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.

"Nope, they are capable of dying."

"Doesn't matter just fight them."

The knights gave a tired sigh but rejoined the fight to protect Camelot.

"You know, this would be a lot easier if we had our tactician!"

Nobody bothered to give Chrom a response but secretly they all agreed.

Robin saw the eye appear from his window and decided that this would be a good time for him to join the fight. Peering over the edge, Robin guessed that it was about a three story drop into the courtyard below. He decided to jump out the window and used the wind tome that he did not give to Merlyn to break his fall. The blast of wind not only broke his fall, but it also knocked over quite a few undead, grotesque beasts and Cenred's soldiers. He landed right next to Sir Leon.

Leon swung around with his sword at the sound of a body landing next to him. It was a last second adjustment to the angle of his swing that prevented him from beheading Robin.

"What are you doing!? Do you realize how close I just came to killing you?" Leon shouted over the sounds of battle.

Robin just shrugged before he started to blast the three opposing sides.

The beasts were not the only beings to pop out of the weird eye. Two people followed closely behind them, swords drawn. The duo took a quick look around the battle and jumped right in, mostly aiming to take out the weird beasts. Of course, they were not against taking out the skeletons as well.

Nobody realized that they had joined the battle until one of the boys was fighting right next to Arthur. Arthur looked over at who he thought was one of his knights and did a double take. The boy looked just like a younger him.

Arthur watched as the boy stabbed a skeleton and it stayed dead.

"How are you doing that?"

The boy didn't bother to respond before running over to help Robin with the skeletons that he was fighting. It didn't take long for all of the beasts to be defeated and they were back to a two front battle.

The knights quickly picked up on the fact that the two newcomers were able to defeat the skeletons and started to herd them towards them.

Frederick and Leon meanwhile led a small group to continue to hold off Cenred's army.

Back down in the crypt, Merlyn was still trying to get to the staff to stop the undead. She didn't realize that the knights had found another way. Merlyn looked around quickly and noticed that Morgana was standing underneath an archway.

"_Feoll bu brand!"_

The stone archway fell on top of Morgana giving Merlyn the opening that she had been looking for. Merlyn ran towards the staff, and picked up a fallen sword from one of the tombs.

"_Snæde!"_Merlyn shouted as she swung the sword at the staff.

The staff broke in two.

Up in the courtyard, the final skeletons fell apart leaving everyone bewildered for a few seconds before they realized that they still had to deal with Cenred and his men.

Cenred had watched the entire battle from a hill overlooking Camelot. Beside him was the witch Morgause, and she was less than pleased.

"Your plan has failed Morgause. Your sister has failed us."

Morgause turned to look at Cenred.

"Do not attempt to blame either myself or my sister. The plan was working flawlessly until those two strangers appeared behind the beasts. We have them to blame."

Cenred scowled.

"It matters not, this battle is lost," He turned on his horse. "I am ordering a retreat."

The knights of Camelot watched as Cenred's army slowly began to back away towards the woods. They were retreating; the battle was won.

As the knights and guards began to gather the wounded and dead, Arthur, Leon, Chrom, Robin and Frederick gathered around the two strangers. Merlyn came running out of the citadel and joined the gathered group.

"Quite the entrance," Chrom told them. "What are your names?"

The blue haired boy stepped forward, "You may call me Marth." Marth stated firmly as he stood at a slight angle with his hand on his sword as though readying to be attacked again at any minute.

"Marth? After the Hero-King of old?" Chrom asked. "Well, you certainly fight like a hero. You both do."

"And what about you?" Arthur asked the blonde.

"My name is Emrys."

Merlyn made a strangled choking sound at the name. Robin gave her a questioning look but she shook her head to tell him that they couldn't talk there. Merlyn looked closely and noticed that the blonde boy was holding a sword that, as far as she knew, was at the bottom of a lake. Oh, she was definitely going to have a conversation with him later.

Merlyn tuned back into the conversation in time to hear Arthur tell the two strangers that they were welcome to stay in Camelot for as long as they wanted.

"Sorry, but we are going to have to politely decline your invitation," Marth spoke up.

He then began to drag Emrys away; however, a few yards from the group, Emrys got Marth to stop and talk to him. They talked in hushed tones for a few minutes with lots of hand gestures before it appeared that Emrys got his way. Marth continued to walk away from the group as, Emrys headed back over.

"I will take you up on your offer, if it is still open."

Arthur nodded and led the group inside. In the throne room, Uther was announcing that it was the Lady Morgana who stopped the undead by going down into the crypts and destroying the source of the spell.

Nobody noticed Merlyn's scowl at the declaration except for those from Ylisse, Emrys and Gaius. Of course, it wasn't as though any of them could speak up against the Lady Morgana's story.

"To thank our...friends...from Ylisse," Uther continued with a slightly sour look on his face. "I have decided to reopen negotiations for the treaty."

With that, the council gathered along with the Ylisseans and talks began again. Merlyn was directed to escort Emrys to a set of guest chambers for now and then to help Gaius with the injured.

The talks actually didn't last that long once both sides agreed to completely leave magic out of the treaty. The treaty was fragile but it was there.

The Ylissean delegation left just after the thirteenth bell of the day. Almost as soon as they were out of sight, the first wyverns of the Plegian delegation came into sight.

"That was far too close," Uther muttered under his breath. He then turned to his son. "You will be respectful. Lady Raven is a high member of the court and is second in line for the throne should the king remain childless. Of course, I don't see any woman wanting to marry him if she hasn't already."

The last part was once more muttered under his breath. Arthur could do nothing except scowl and nod as the delegation bringing his future wife drew closer.


	3. Chapter 2

**We do not own Merlin or Fire Emblem.**

**Raven= Female Robin; had to come up with a different but similar name.**

**Chapter 2**

The group watched as the wyverns grew closer. It was very obvious that there was somebody in the group that wasn't on a wyvern.

Uther seemed very displeased with how the Plegian delegates were arriving; however, he couldn't really complain when it enabled the Ylisseans to leave without being seen. While he was not completely in agreement with the treaty between Camelot and Plegia, there was a good chance that there would be a war soon, and he did not want Camelot to be involved in it.

Neither side had been able to agree on magic's part in the treaty, so in the end, it was left out. The treaty included the normal negotiations including: borders, trade, and of course, a marriage. King Gangrel had no children and was not seeing any in the future. Gangrel had no interest in children or a wife for that matter, and so far, no woman could stand to be around for an extended period of time. Therefore, upon his death, his second in command Validar was going to take over the throne. Validar had a daughter and it was to her that Prince Arthur was to be married.

Uther watched as the delegation came in for a landing and saw something that he had not seen when they were in the air: a young lady on the back of a black pegasus. The lady had her cowl up over her head; however, one could tell from her outfit and how she held herself that she was raised as a noble. She looked very familiar to everybody present, but nobody could place her face. They all knew that she had never been in Camelot before. In fact, she had never been out of the Plegian palace before.

The group dismounted and made their way towards the Camelotians that were waiting for them at the top of the steps.

"Welcome, King Gangrel. It has been a long time," Uther greeted the king of the Plegians.

"Thank you, Uther. Now, let's get this wedding under way."

Merlyn watched as Arthur and the girl she could only guess to be Raven both cringed at the idea of being married in the coming days.

"Merlyn grab the bags and escort the Princess to her chambers," Arthur ordered as the rest of the delegation made their way inside and to the throne room.

Merlyn nodded, walked over to Raven and grabbed her bags.

"If you will follow me, my lady."

Raven just nodded and followed the maid inside. The castle so far looked very different from her home in Plegia. It was much more open and therefore brighter than the Plegian castle. While she knew that there were going to be some issues involving her magic, she also knew that there was nothing that King Uther could do about it if he didn't want to go to war with Plegia.

The walk from the entrance to the chambers took about twenty minutes. That is, twenty minutes of dodging servants and nobles who were running around trying to get the wedding prepared. It also didn't help that every time one of said servants or nobles caught sight of Raven, there would be the whole formality of curtseying or bowing that had to be adhered to. Raven, of course, took all of this in with a grain of salt and just smiled at everybody that she met.

Finally arriving at the chambers, Merlyn let Raven in to get settled.

"If you need anything, my lady, Prince Arthur has assigned me to take care of you."

With that, Merlyn began to make her way out the door.

"Wait!"

Merlyn stopped just before the door and turned around.

"Yes, my lady?"

"I really don't wish to be locked up in these chambers until the wedding. And, since I am going to be living here on a permanent basis, could you show me what exactly there is to do in a magicless kingdom?"

"You want a tour?" Merlyn asked for clarification.

Raven nodded, "Yes, that would be perfect."

Merlyn curtseyed, "Then follow me, my lady."

"Please just call me Raven when it is just us...ummm...what was your name?"

"Merlyn."

With the introductions done, and the court in session trying to plan Raven and Arthur's loveless marriage, Merlyn led Raven around the citadel and the upper town. They visited the library but once again, Sir Geoffrey was not present to allow them to take out books. Merlyn showed Raven where the Court Physician's chambers were so that if she needed either Gaius or Merlyn she knew where to find them. They went to the stables where Raven checked in on her very unhappy pegasus, who was named Thanatos.

"Calm down boy, nobody here will hurt you."

Even with the reassurances and some apples, it still took a good half hour for the pegasus to regain even a semblance of calm.

The upper town was filled with festivities of the villagers celebrating the upcoming marriage of their prince. While the town was still recovering from the invasion just the night before, and many of the villagers were still living in makeshift tents, everybody was celebrating.

As the tour went on, Merlyn was getting a severe feeling of deja vu. It wasn't until they were on their way back to Raven's chambers that Merlyn realized what the feeling was coming from.

"Raven-"

"Yes, Merlyn."

"Do you by chance have a brother?"

Raven stopped and turned to look at Merlyn, "No, why do you ask?"

"You just remind me of someone that I met the other day."

"I remind you of a boy?"

Merlyn chuckled, "No, you just seem to have the same interests that he did. And you resemblance to each other is most peculiar."

Raven nodded, "Well, perhaps I can meet this boy."

Merlyn shook her head, "He left the other day to return home. I don't know when he will be back."

"Well, when he returns, I will meet him." Here she turned and gave Merlyn a sad smile. "After all, _I'm_ not leaving anytime soon."

The pair returned back to Raven's chambers and Merlyn left to go get Prince Arthur ready for the night. Of course, she had to spend the 45 minutes getting him ready listening to him complain about the wedding.

"Honestly, if this girl was any sort of princess, she would have been there assisting with the planning instead of hiding out in her chambers. She isn't the only one being forced into this."

Merlyn just nodded along. It was the best thing to do when the prince was like this. After all, an upset prince tended to be a goblet throwing prince.

The next day, while the court was once more trying to plan out the wedding, Merlyn was given the day off. She had decided to use this time to try and get the tome that she was given to work. Gaius had left on his morning rounds and wouldn't be back until lunch. There was no chance of any knights getting injured and sent to them because practice was cancelled in favor of wedding preparations.

It was all these things together that led to Merlyn letting her guard down and practicing where anybody could see her as they came in the door of the court Physician's chambers. As luck would have it, somebody did come through the door and caught Merlyn with a magic book.

"Merlyn are you in here?"

Merlyn jumped and tried to find a place to hide the book, but luck was not on her side. Raven came into the room, spotted the tome in her hands and stared.

"Merlyn, what are you doing with that?"

"I- ummm- well- umm - you see-"

Merlyn couldn't figure out how to get herself out of this mess.

"Casual reading?"

Raven shook her head, "Try again. This time, maybe the truth?"

Merlyn sighed, "I was given this book by the boy I met a couple of days ago. But, he didn't have time to teach me how to use it before he left."

"Your friend was a mage?"

"Tactician, but yes, he could use tomes."

Raven went wide eyed, "You know the difference in the classes."

Merlyn nodded, "Robin explained them to me."

"What are you then?"

Merlyn shrugged, "I have been called a witch since I was born, but I don't know what class I would be in."

"A witch?"

"A female born with magic who is able to use incantations to control the energies and elements of the world. The main difference between a witch and a sorceress is that a witch is born with magic and therefore use magic instinctively without incantations from a very young age. A sorceress has to train for years just to be able to use the most basic of spells. Robin was trying to teach me his branch of magic, and I was teaching him incantations."

Merlyn's eyes went wide.

"Did you need something, Raven?"

Raven giggled, "No, Merlyn, I was actually getting extremely bored being locked up in my chambers all day, so I came up here to see what you were doing. I never expected to find another magic user here in Camelot."

Merlyn blushed, "Well, it's not exactly something that I can broadcast."

"How about I help you use the tome and you can help me with my boredom?"

"How would I help you with your boredom?"

"I don't know, teach me incantations?"

Merlyn nodded.

They gathered up what they would need for the lessons and cleared away some space in the room before beginning. Raven was just explaining to Merlyn how she needs to read and then do the incantation when the door opened again and both girls stopped wide-eyed.

"Merlyn? What are you two doing?"

There, standing in the doorway, was Emrys.

"Practicing magic, what does it look like we are doing?"

"You do realize that if anybody else had walked into this room, both of you would be in serious trouble and Merlyn would be losing her head."

"And who are you?"

"Arthur's doppelganger. Refuses to tell anybody his real name and he goes by Emrys. Emrys, this is Princess Raven."

"If you two are going to practice, I am going to supervise."

The two girls looked at him for a minute as though he was out of his mind.

"Well, get on with it."

That is how lunchtime found Gaius returning to find his chambers completely destroyed but Merlyn having a giant smile on her face as she controlled the wind through the tome while Raven was laughing in the background.

"Remind me to tell Robin that he is not allowed to give you any more tomes, Merlyn."

This of course, led to Merlyn and Emrys being forced to spend the rest of the day cleaning the chambers. Raven volunteered to help; however, Gaius sat the princess down and gave her her first lesson on incantations. It was early to bed for everybody because of the busy day the next day.

Merlyn was up with the rest of the servants three hours before sunrise trying to get everything done. Servants had been running around all night working on getting the throne room decorated. Raven's dress had arrived from the seamstress and it was being kept up in the Lady Morgana's rooms. Merlyn had been told the day before that George would be getting Arthur ready for the wedding with the assistance of Sir Leon and a few of the squires. Merlyn was to assist Princess Raven along with Lady Morgana and Gwen.

After helping in the kitchens and the throne room for a couple of hours, Merlyn was summoned up to Princess Raven's chambers to get ready for the wedding. She knocked on the door and was let in by Gwen.

"Oh, Merlyn, finally, now let's get this finished."

The next hour was spent working on hair and the confections that noble women use to make their eyes pop and cheeks appear rosy. Merlyn had no idea how to apply any of it because she served a prince not a noble woman. Also, she had never used any of it herself. It was about a half hour before the wedding when it was decided that they needed to get Raven into her dress. Gwen brought out the dress and Merlyn instantly saw the problem.

"She's going to be washed out."

"Nonsense. King Uther had this dress made specifically with Raven in mind. Merlyn, go get a basin of water please."

Merlyn could do nothing except nod and do as she was told. She had yet to come up with a way to keep Morgana from going to Uther about her magic. She really did not want to get on her bad side before coming up with a plan. That talk with the dragon was becoming more and more necessary.

The girls quickly got Raven into the specially designed dress only to discover that Merlyn's fears were indeed warranted. Raven was washed out in the light gold wedding dress and was paler than a ghost.

Merlyn didn't even bother with an I told you so as all four tried to come up with a solution.

"Could we dye the dress?"

"Not enough time."

"Is there another dress?"

"No, as I said earlier, this dress was specifically designed by Uther for Raven. There is no other dress."

"Well, do you know of any other noblewomen that would have a dress appropriate for this?"

That stopped everybody. It was quite common for a woman to keep her dress for her daughter to wear to her wedding. In fact-

Morgana walked over to her closet and headed straight for a dress in the very back. The dress that she came out with a was sky blue with teal sleeves. It was outlined in gold and had multiple jewels decorating it from the waist down. The jewels also decorated the gold hem of the layers of the sleeves and the bottom hem of the skirt.

"Oh, my Lady!" Gwen nearly squealed. "That is perfect."

"It was my mother's."

Very carefully, they slipped the light gold dress off of Raven and got her into the blue one. She had Merlyn run to her chambers to grab her gold slippers and Morgana offered her a necklace that went fabulously with the dress.

After Raven was dressed, Gwen quickly got Morgana ready while Merlyn headed down to assist the other servants in the Great Hall. The feast was to be held immediately after the ceremony. Merlyn would then be serving two masters: Arthur and Raven.

The wedding went flawlessly with many fake tears shed by the nobles who truly wished to be anywhere else than there. Uther looked absolutely thrilled that his son was _finally_ married and to a noblewoman at that. What was more the treaty between Plegia and Camelot was now secured. His son had done his duty.

Arthur, on the other hand, continuously had a face that looked as though he had swallowed a barrel of lemons when his father wasn't looking. If anybody had bothered to looked, they would have seen an identical expression on Raven's face.

Emrys had stuck to the back of the throne room. He almost looked proud of the two young nobles getting married; however, Merlyn had no idea why that would be. He snuck out immediately after the vows were done. He really didn't want to draw attention to himself, so he would be eating in his chambers that night. Unfortunately for him, somebody did see him leave, and Uther was not happy.

That night, after the feast was over and before retiring to his chambers for the night, Uther made a trip to visit the unknown guest. After knocking at the door, he was answered by the boy himself.

"Come in Your Majesty."

Uther entered the room and made his way over to the table that had already been cleared of the dinner dishes. Emrys followed him, and after Uther took a seat, so did he.

"I am going to get right to the point, boy. Who are you and why are you here?"

As he waited for the boy to answer, he finally got a good look at him and the similarities that he saw were worrying to say the least. He looked exactly like-

"My name is Emrys, and I am here to find family."

"Family?"

Emrys nodded, "I was separated from my parents when I was little. I found my mom; however, she died apparently when I was seven. I only recently was able to trace my father here to Camelot."

"Your father?"

Emrys nodded again, "I was able to find through the records that he is a nobleman here in Camelot, and I have a copy of the family crest. I just have to find him."

Uther was beginning to internally panic. Could this boy be? But surely the women would have told him, after all, he is the king! Uther held out his hand, and without having to ask, Emrys handed him the pendant that held the family crest.

Uther took one look at the crest and immediately knew who the boy's father must be.

"This is the crest of the House of Pendragon."

"So my father is-"

"Me."

The two continued to talk about what would happen from here on out. They both agreed that it would probably be best just to have Emrys taken on as Uther's ward. They would say that he was a nephew. He would of course, be joining the Knights of Camelot starting in the morning after Arthur was informed.

Uther wasn't going to interrupt his son on his wedding night for anything, so Arthur would be informed whenever he and Raven decided to come out of their chambers. After a couple more hours of talking, Uther left, and Emrys headed over to the window in his chambers. That conversation had definitely gone smoother than he expected and now he was free to join the knights in training. As he looked out on the upper town, he saw a figure sneaking out through the gates. With a smirk, he grabbed his cloak and moved to follow.

Merlyn waited until she heard the 12th bell before making her way out of the citadel. She knew that everybody by this point would either be asleep or too drunk to notice her moving through the shadows. She needed some answers and hopefully the dragon would be able to answer them. She never noticed that she was being followed as she made her way to the same clearing that Arthur had fought the dragon a little over a year ago.

"_**O drakon, e male so ftengometta tesd'hup'anankes!"**_

It took a while, but eventually, the dragon did appear.

"Why have you summoned me, young witch?"

"Well Arthur is married as of today to another witch. She is from Plegia. I made a friend from Ylisse who is a tactician. Oh, and Camelot was attacked and saved by two complete strangers who nobody knows where they came from. One of them left, however, one of them is still here and get this, he looks exactly like ARTHUR! AND HE IS USING THE NAME EMRYS!"

From the shadows, Emrys was trying to stop himself from laughing out loud as he watched Merlyn get worked up over all of this. He honestly did feel guilty about doing this to somebody who, in reality, he truly respected; however, it was all necessary for right now.

Kilgharrah let Merlyn get it out of her system before turning to the shadows.

"You can come out, young Pendragon.:

Merlyn turned around quickly, "Arthur!"

Emrys wasn't to surprised that the wise dragon knew he was there. From what he had heard, the dragon, while riddle filled and annoying, was aware of much that was to come. He would be surprised if Kilgharrah didn't already know who he was and where he was from. He stepped out of the shadows and into the clearing.

"I'm not Arthur. But, my last name is Pendragon."

Merlyn's eyes widened at who she saw before she narrowed them again.

"Well, I wouldn't know that since you refused to give me your name and now you are following me!"

Emrys just nodded before turning to the dragon.

"It is a pleasure to see you, Kilgharrah."

Merlyn's eyes widened again at this. He knew Kilgharrah?!

"You and your friends play a dangerous game, young Pendragon."

"We know, but we really had no choice."

"You have been separated from the others of your group."

This was a statement not a question. Emrys nodded.

"We were attacked and it forced us to land away from each other."

Merlyn was half tempted just to turn around and leave since it was obvious that nobody was going to fill her in on the half of the conversation that she was missing. She knew that Kilgharrah would only speak in riddles and Emrys had already refused to answer her questions. So, why had she come here again? After listening to the half conversation for a few more minutes, she finally snapped.

"Will somebody tell me what is going on here!?"

The two males of the group instantly turned to the angered witch. Emerys couldn't stop the flinch at seeing her angry. He had only seen his Merlyn this angry once and that was at the end of the world.

Kilgharrah seemed to come to a decision.

"It would be wise to have the young witch informed of what is happening."

Emrys just nodded and continued to look at Merlyn before taking a deep breath.

"My name is William Pendragon and I am from about 18 years into your future. I am the son of Arthur and Raven."

Merlyn could do nothing except sit down in the grass as she tried to take this in.

"The future?"

William nodded.

"Son of Arthur and Raven?"

Another nod.

"Oh gods, I'm dead. The prat reproduced."

William bit his tongue to prevent himself from mentioning that he had a younger brother.

"I don't know if I should feel insulted or if I should agree with you after having seen my father these past couple days."

Merlyn decided to get back on track.

"You mentioned there being other children. How many of you are there exactly?"

"Counting myself?"

Merlyn nodded.

"Twenty-four."

"So many?" Merlyn asked in almost shock.

William nodded.

"Why are you here? Why leave your families?"

"Because, _Aunt_ Merlyn, our families are dead and the world destroyed."

"Aunt?"

William chuckled, "Of course you would pick up on that. Yes, I considered you an aunt. Still do in fact."

"What happened to your families and the world?"

William spent about an hour giving Merlyn a brief rundown of what had happened to them. Even then, they were still talking as they made their way back to the citadel.

As they reached the physician's chambers, William insisted on escorting Merlyn, William stopped her.

"I am under the story of being Uther's _nephew_. At least, that is what the public story is going to be. He believes me to be his illegitimate child. Please, don't tell anybody what I have told you tonight and continue to call me Emrys when we are in public."

Merlyn nodded. She understood. With that, the two separated to their rooms. Meanwhile and certain newly married prince and princess were staring angrily at each other from across the table. Neither wanted to be there and neither was going to back down from the other. Merlyn had no idea what she was going to walk in on in the morning.


End file.
